The Islamic Ethic

A letter in response to John Cassidy’s article (February 28, 2011)

John Cassidy, documenting the debate over the relationship between Islam and capitalism, labels those who see a contradiction between the two as new Weberians (“Prophet Motive,” February 28th). Max Weber argues that the spirit of capitalism is the outcome of Protestant ethics: hard work, self-discipline, confidence in one’s own salvation, and worldly action guided by rationality. Thus, Weber focusses not on institutions but on everyday practices; his vision, instead of explaining the economic stagnation of Islamic nations, can help us understand how Islam is being made compatible with capitalism. Today in many Islamic countries, especially Indonesia, the nation that contains the world’s largest Muslim population, spiritual reformers interpret the Koran as endorsing ethical dispositions strikingly similar to those which Weber identified as pivotal to capitalist behavior.

Daromir Rudnyckyj

Department of Pacific and Asian Studies

University of Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

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